TORONTO — Instead of taking the team bus or a taxi, John Farrell decided to go for a walk on Friday afternoon.

The Boston Red Sox manager said it took him 45 minutes to walk from his team’s Yorkville hotel to the Rogers Centre. If that seems like a long duration for the distance, it is because he had a few conversations along the way.

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“I will say on my walk in today from the hotel … I had a chance to meet up and talk with people on the streets coming in here,” Farrell said. “Surprisingly, a number of people welcomed me back. To have a couple of casual conversations on the way in was a good way to come to the ballpark.”

If he expected otherwise, you could see why. Farrell, who managed the Blue Jays in both 2011 and 2012, made his return to the city for the first time since he left Toronto for his “dream job” last October. The Red Sox and Blue Jays started a three-game series on Friday evening. The Red Sox manager was loudly booed as he walked out to deliver the lineup card, and again as he walked back to the dugout. He tipped his cap to the fans on before descending the steps. The scene repeated itself, minus the doff of the cap, when he went out to replace starter Felix Doubront in the sixth inning.

And in the top of the third inning, the fans jeered his name to the same pattern that Springfield citizens jeered Darryl Strawberry’s name in the classic 1992 Simpsons episode, “Homer At the Bat.” There was no immediate word as to whether Farrell shed a single tear, as cartoon Strawberry did.

We respect John and his decision to pursue his dream job, or that’s what he called. We’d rather have him over there instead of being here and wishing he were there

During the length of his tenure in Toronto, Boston loomed for Farrell. After the 2011 season, the team publicly changed its policy to state employees could not break a contact to take a similar job with a different organization — necessary after the Red Sox managerial job opened following the firing of Terry Francona. Farrell had been the Red Sox pitching coaching from 2007-10.

When the issue came up once again, as Francona’s replacement, Bobby Valentine, lasted just one year in Boston, the Blue Jays decided to allow Farrell to leave. Ultimately, he was traded for shortstop Mike Aviles. For a fan base that has watched its team overshadowed by the Yankees and Red Sox for two decades, this was another reminder of Toronto’s second-class status.

“I’m sure there’s going to be some boos tonight,” Farrell said. “I think we all recognize that’ll probably take place. I think that goes back to how much people care, and that’s a good thing. That’s a good thing for the Blue Jays and they’ve got a lot to be excited about.”

“I’m just as intrigued to see the reactions, as well,” added Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, who was not in the lineup because of a sore ankle. “We have a different point of view as players. We respect John and his decision to pursue his dream job, or that’s what he called. We’d rather have him over there instead of being here and wishing he were there.”

That was the popular sentiment in the Blue Jays’ clubhouse. For his part, Farrell defended his commitment to the job while he was in Toronto.

“To look back, I know I can look myself in the mirror and say that I gave the Blue Jays organization everything I had on a given day,” Farrell said.

“We live in the public eye. Every move we make, every action we undertake is scrutinized, it’s publicized and it’s talked through and through. Sports give people the right to express their opinion in the stands.”